Pops only asked Jenkins to do simple scrubbing, so he finished the job in just an hour. Seeing that Oliver hadn't returned, he went inside the counter, took out the photograph and the blank paper that had been hidden in a book and started copying.
It was not easy at the beginning, because the small inscriptions required one to look carefully to make out the exact structure. The photographer was obviously not a professional cameraman,the interlacing of bright and dark parts made the letters on stelle even less legible.
Not only that, but Jenkins' sense of hearing was amplified during the transcription process. The creaking of the steam pipes and the jokes of pedestrians walking outside were disturbing him, all of which made the process even more difficult.
In the beginning it took him five minutes to copy just two lines . Pops said it didn't have to be exactly the same,and a general resemblance would be enough, but Jenkins’ work was more like a doctor’s handwriting
"Well, nothing seems to have changed"
After waiting for a while he realised that there was no feeling of cold air flowing in his body , so he assumed it was the result of not copying enough.
The doorbell rang, Jenkins calmly put his things away, and saw a young man in a large khaki overcoat come in. His short brown hairs were in disarray, he looked a little panicked and restless. He lowered his head and almost ran into the old bronze bell in front of him Although Pops said it was a fake, still he had made it himself.
"Hello, I've come to sell something."
The young man timidly came to the counter. His right hand, which had been resting on the inside of his overcoat, seemed to be pulling something out.
"It's not a pistol, is it?"
Jenkins speculated maliciously, but fortunately his luck was not that bad. It was just a rusty copper ring. The ring looked large enough for two of Jenkins' fingers to fit through.
"Just a moment, please."
Jenkins nodded politely to him and walked to the door and shouted.
"Pops, the guests are here!"
The young man was so startled that he jumped and almost fell over, but luckily he was holding onto the counter.
He smiled awkwardly after noticing Jenkins’ gaze
"Substandard health,without any contact with sunlight year round, supposedly still a student, and not very good with interacting with others. So, this is a poor student who is forced to sell items of value he has on hand cheaply to make ends meet?"
Pops soon emerged from the warehouse, he nodded towards Jenkins while fishing out a pair of white gloves out of his pocket and putting them on. Then he went to the counter.
Taking advantage of this moment, Jenkins immediately opened his [Eye of Reality] and saw that there was actually a faint red glow on the ring.
Luckily, he was standing behind Pops, and the pale customer's attention was focused on the ring, so his expression went unnoticed.
"Just a moment please ......"
The old man carefully picked up the ring and said to the embarrassed young man. Then taking off his own glasses, he held the ring in front of him for a closer look.
At first it was merely that, but soon Jenkins saw a white spot of light in front of him glowing up.
"So that's it,Papa Oliver is in charge here because of this, huh? I just wonder if this is a basic ability provided by the church or if he got it from somewhere else."
He thought as he continued to look in silence, and after the ability was activated, Pops' hesitated for a moment,he seemed to have discovered something.
"It can be considered an antique." He said simply, "But the year may be slightly more recent, and judging by the way the ring itself was cast, it's from the early days of the founding of the kingdom of Fidectelli. The ring appears to be a little larger, and it is unlikely that an ordinary person's finger would be this thick, so it was made specially for a specific person. Unfortunately, there are no markings on the ring that would point to the identity of this person, so I can only judge that his first owner was a blacksmith or butcher of some kind a hundred years ago. To be honest, if you can prove that it is the relic of a certain nobleman, I can offer you a price of more than ten pounds."
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The young man smiled miserably.
"It is something left by an ancestor who was indeed said to be a blacksmith. It isn't worth much, but soon I have to pay tuition fees for the School of Art, so ......"
The man looked very bad at talking and gave away his details in one simple sentence. Of course it was assuming that he was telling the truth.
Pops considered for a moment and placed the ring back on the wooden tabletop.
"Sir, can you add a little more ....." the young man asked.
"I'm a believer in the [Legacy Sage], and it's for the sake of your student status that I'm giving you this price."
Pops' eyes were a little sharp, the young man took a step back, feeling embarrassed. He hesitated for a moment and nodded, while Pops quickly drew a large black money clip from his pocket and skillfully took one bank note out of it.
"Welcome, patronise Pops Antiques again."
The young man took the money and immediately turned away without looking back. Jenkins didn't even have a chance to learn his name.
After the bell rang again , he was gone. Oliver shook his head and smiled, taking a red, lacquered wooden box from the counter he carefully placed the ring in its velvet lining.
He closed the box carefully and took out another white slip of paper intending to write something.
"Sir, could this be ......"
Jenkins once again exercised his masterful acting skills, precisely controlling his facial expressions.
Oliver wrote the note and then fixed it on the box with one of those expensive 8p bottles of glue that Jenkins remembered only seeing Newman Williams use when he was at college.
"Usually,you don't always get to collect one a week, so I didn't expect to come across it as soon as the first person came."
Seeing that Jenkins was still a little confused, he continued, "I can only identify here if this is a mortal object, next it will be sent to the church, our job is just to buy it."
"And will the church reimburse you for the one pound you just paid?"
"Of course it will." Pops smiled in a different way, "Not only that, but after the church appraises it, it will give us a tenth of the appraised value of the item as a reward in the form of a cash payment. It's a craft I make my living from."
He vaguely guessed something.
"Yes, young apprentice, Papa Oliver is no mean man. Even though you're just watching this business, I'll still give you a quarter of the money in three or four weeks. Your plan to move out and live on your own should come to fruition in six months."